Sunday, June 30, 2013

TLC's 'Jet' was rescued over a year ago now and even though this little cutie barely tips the scales at just over 4 pounds, he continues to be overlooked at the rescue shop. We were contacted by a shelter in Pasadena and asked to take this little one. Because he was so small, they knew he'd be in good hands at TLC.

Jet is considered 'mid life' for a chihuahua, as they tend to have very long life spans and have been known to live up to 21 years when well taken care of. But perhaps because Jet is not under the age of 5, he has been passed over time and time again.

Jet has the typical 'chihuahua' attitude that even though he is 4 pounds in body weight, he believes he tops the scales closer to 100 pounds! To those who are endeared to this adorable personality trait, Jet will please. He has no idea that he's a little munchkin and has the attitude to prove it. But make no mistake, he also has an attitude for gratitude and that is why we really want to find this little guy a loving home. If he were on the east coast, he would have been adopted immediately!

Jet gets along with other doggies and LOVES to snuggle. He is what we call an 'undercover chihuahua' because if you give him the opportunity, he will burrow underneath a blankie, all toasty-warm and curl up to sleep. He would LOVE to be somebody's special little guy and sleep with his person.

Jet is a smart cookie and is interested in what is going on around him. He is not a barker, nor a marker, so what he really needs now is just for someone to finally give him a loving home where he can just *belong*.

Did we mention that he looks adorable all dressed up?!?! He is just a little Prince and would be a wonderful companion to a lucky person or family. Due to his small size, he would be a great little purse puppy, perfect size to be a companion for a senior and because he's quiet, he could accompany his family where ever they go! Due to his size, no toddlers who could accidentally fall on him, please.

In this photo above, you can see how tiny he really is! And he's just waiting...waiting...waiting for someone to choose him!!!! He's been so patient and we would really LOVE to see him finally win that loving home he's waited over a year for now.

Here is little Jet pictured by TLC's Levi (who has been adopted). We are hoping Jet is next to be adopted. Levi was also 4 pounds, yet you can see how Jet is even more compact and tiny and those little round features are just perfection!

If you can find it in your heart to welcome just one more widdle one into your home, we are sure Jet would be thrilled to finally belong to someone! His profile can be seen here.

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Barkley fulfills a promise that I made earlier in the year - that we would save one large breed mix each month at TLC... And Barkley is pretty BIG at 100 pounds... A Mastiff/American Bulldog mix, Barkley came to us in pretty bad shape but was rescued from a high kill shelter by his 'doggie fairy godmother', Kathryn...

And a special note from Kathryn here about Barkley:

I come into the shop every morning to feed Barkley and to take him out for his morning constitution and his leash training. This particular morning I fed him before I took him out. For some reason I happened to stay by his crate to watch him eat. After a few minutes, Barkley paused, looked up at me and he wagged his tail a few seconds, and then proceeded to finish his breakfast. It was if he were saying, "Thank you. I really enjoy this breakfast." I think if Barkley could have smiled, he would have, but I saw the smile in his heart and in his eyes.

After breakfast I took him out for his walk. His favorite spot is the fountains at the far east end of the mall. He likes to walk through the water and drink from the fountain. He likes to look around and see what's going on and a group of children caught his eye. He watched them for awhile, and with a gentle, "Let's go, Barkley" from me, we started up again.

Now we are at the other end of the mall by the grassy area and the koi pond. Barkley likes to rest on the grass in the shade of a tree. He loves to drink from the fountain, and he never fails to that go "commando" and scoot on his belly. I guess it feels pretty good and scratches his tummy. He also rolls around on his back like he is doing snow angels. When he was on his back, I decided to give his chest and tummy a good scratching. I am not kidding when I tell you that Barkley got really still, shut his eyes and stretched out his hind legs. He stayed that way until I stopped scratching. I wonder what went on in his little mind.

Today as we were resting, I had Barkley put his paws up on the bench where I was sitting. He put his paws up, and immediately came over and put his paws on my lap and gave me a great big goobery kiss. I guess that made him so happy and he jumped down and bowed at me to play. I took his cue and started to tussle with him. He was soooo happy and started to prance and bow. What a loveable happy goober he is.

What a difference from the dog we rescued that was in so much pain from the swelling of his paws and the mange that was never taken care of. He is getting more beautiful every day. He tells me that he is happy.

Another beautiful life and soul is saved. He will make someone a wonderful gentle, loyal companion.

Barkley appeared on Fox11 yesterday with Lori and as you can see, he is one gentle giant!

The corp of volunteers is really the machine that saves dogs' lives... Some of our volunteers have been with us for almost 4 years now and that really says something... I'd like to take the time to thank those that have given so much to the cause....

Sarah with her first 'save', Cookie

Initially I met Sarah when she and her partner came in to mobile adoptions to adopt a specific special needs dog we had named "MoeMoe"... After talking to Sarah for a bit, I realized she cared FAR too much this kind of hard case... Cared in the manner that she actually physically hurt when a fur baby she loved was hurting... I got the sense this would not be a good match and denied the adoption application... MoeMoe went on to be adopted by someone else (that's for another blog posting) and Sarah went on to adopt a cute little sprite that is the love of her life now...

The next time I met Sarah, she came to a TLC event and as I watched her with her furbaby, it struck me that Sarah might want to channel all of that extra love of hers into the cause of No-Kill, so I talked to her about volunteering...

Sarah went on to be a regular volunteer, running the secondary mobile adoptions in Simi Valley at Unleashed... On occasion, she'd come to the main mobile adoptions we held each Saturday at the PETCO in Moorpark, and the more I talked to Sarah and was around her, the more I liked her... I particularly enjoyed watching the interaction between her and the little ones... Sarah never has a bad day when there is a little fur baby to hold, cuddle and coo to... It is one of the things I respect the most about Sarah...

Another thing I have come to count on is Sarah's unique ability to talk to potential adopters, listen with an inner ear and then make some of the best recommendations possible as to which dog or puppy will REALLY work in their lifestyle... She has successfully placed dogs in situations when I didn't really think we even had a dog or puppy that would work out well! ... There really is no 'perfect rescue dog' and while most people tend to adopt from the visuals, Sarah seems to find what the people are really looking for (and maybe they themselves don't even know it at the time)...

Sarah giving Cookie a special dose of extra love

Sarah now runs our busiest day at the rescue shop - Saturdays... We can have 400 to 500 folks walk through the rescue shop and that is a LOT of strangers coming into the dogs' 'house' at a time...

Sarah maintains not only the cleanliness of the shop, but greets everyone with respect and politeness... Everyone (two-footed and four-footed alike) gets all of her attention and how she does this is beyond me...

TLC could not be where it is today without Sarah...

Not once in three plus years have I asked Sarah for help that she hasn't not only helped, but gone above and beyond to find solutions for problems, new marketing ideas and just BEEN there through thick and thin, no matter what...

It is not often in these days and times that you find someone with such integrity, dedication and compassion... She's one a gazillion...

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Another upcoming awesome event at Simi Valley Town Center Mall - National Collector Car Appreciation Day! Come by the TLC "Saturdays On the Mall" and see our crafty items up for sale (proceeds to benefit TLC) and stroll through the over 500 collector cars at this event!

TLC is having a 'Spaw Day' and at the rescue shop this upcoming Saturday (6/29/13) from noon until 4PM. For a small donation,
your dog will receive a pawdicure (nail clip, spritz of cologne, bow or
bandana) --- proceeds to directly benefit TLC and the small dogs they
have rescued awaiting furever homes.

Or come and have your pooches 'bathed by the pound' by the TLC volunteers and members of Fancy Furbabies, an arm of TLC. This is a fundraising event to support TLC and as a 'soft launch' of Fancy Furbabies. Girl Scout troops will be on hand to weigh your dog, process the tax deductible receipts and add to the spirit of the event!

Dogs 2-5 pounds are $5 for the Bathe-A-Thon.... 6-10 pounds are $10.... 11-15 pounds are $15.... 16-20 pounds dogs are $20 and so on accordingly. Maximum of 100 pound dogs, please (although, make us an offer and we might figure out a way to get a 100+ pound into our grooming sink at the rescue shop! ::smile::).

Fifty percent of all proceeds of the Bathe-A-Thon will benefit TLC's rescued pups. Your pooch will receive a full bath and dried with love at TLC's grooming station inside the rescue shop.

Those dogs bathed at the 'Bathe-A-Thon' will also receive a coupon worth 25% off your next grooming session with Fancy Furbabies.

Ya can't bet these prices, ya know?

For those not familiar with Fancy Furbabies, it is an arm of TLC composed of the young adults who do dog walking and house-sitting along with professional dog grooming. Only those seasoned, experienced and dedicated volunteers of TLC are invited to become part of Fancy Furbabies, the next generation of dog rescuers. If you adopted a 'fluffy, scruffy' from TLC, it was probably groomed by one of the Fancy Furbabies' staff members.

Special note: Extensively matted & full brush outs are not included in the Bathe-A-Thon event. We encourage you to make an appointment with Fancy Furbabies for this type of grooming necessary -- or any cat grooming you might need.

Monday, June 24, 2013

Many, MANY years ago, someone described me as a 'facilitator' in a conversation... I politely nodded my head and said "Thank you," but left feeling somehow it was not a compliment... At the time I was my daughter's age and was involved in doing retired Greyhound rescue...

This was before the major use of the Internet and we did it the 'old school way' - long distance phone calls, writing letters by hand, putting a $.20 stamp on the envelope and then waiting to be called with a time and place to meet a leg of the rescue train... There were organized 'trains' of folks who thought the practice of killing retired Greyhounds was barbaric... Someone would drive so far with a dog they'd begged from a track who had planned on killing it, and then meet another person somewhere along I-95 at a rest stop...

The dog would go on another leg with someone else until eventually all of the legs of the trip were completed and the dog arrived at the destination to find their furever home... Maybe the trip would be from Florida to Maine and take many days to complete, but it was saving dogs one by one...

I have never been blessed with the ownership or friendship of a Greyhound, but each time I drove a leg in the Greyhound rescue train, I was always impressed by the gentle spirit of these magnificent creatures... Somehow, sitting in the front seat of my car, I could not imagine my passenger had that kind of speed and then again, such a short life...

I remember thinking on one of those trips that by the time I was 40 years old, it would all be over and we, in this country, would not be killing healthy dogs like this... I had just seen the movie "On Golden Pond" if I remember correctly, and many of my thoughts at the time were concerning the differences between the generations of us humans... "Old school ways" and being old-fashioned was not something I wanted to be, and as with the bloom of youth, I figured I would change the world in my lifetime...

Thirty-two years later, I look back on those times and realize how truly naive I was about the ability of humans to learn from their past and improve their future...

I was reminded of these thoughts a few days ago when someone mentioned as a child their dogs were fed Skippy Dog Food and it was good enough then so good enough today (more or less)... Later that day a person came into the rescue shop and asked the best way to potty train a dog --- that shoving the dog's nose into their poop was "Just not working... I don't know why... That's how my mom house-trained all of her dogs, but it is just not working with this dog... Maybe he's mentally challenged? Is that possible?"...

As for Skippy Dog Food, it barely gets a 1-star rating from the Dog Food Advisors... Which is a bit better than Pedigree, which doesn't even qualify for a star rating at all! Unless you are buying Pedigree Plus Healthy and even then it is only has 2-star rating... (BTW, if you are interested in the best wet dog foods, Dog Food Advisors does have a list)... I hadn't heard Skippy dog food mentioned in a LONG time, so it did jar some memories... I didn't think it was even still on the market and being made (hence my checking it out at one of my favorite websites - Dog Food Advisors)...

As for potty training a dog by shoving his nose into his poop? Thankfully in my lifetime positive reinforcement techniques for dog training has come into its own... I am surprised that folks still believe that shoving the dog's most sensitized part of their body into feces is effective...

As I tried to explain this to the woman without success at the rescue shop, I finally made this comparison... "Let me take all of your clothes off from the waist down and I will sit you in a bowl of ice cubes and water... Tell me how you would feel about me and this process... What would you learn from it?".... (smile... aren't I bad! LOL)...

Well, it got my point across if even in a graphic way!... Her look of shock followed by watching her brain process it all was priceless... "Hmmm, yes, I can see where doing this is not teaching him to not poop in the house... "... ::shaking my head here::... What people do know, remember from their past and use in their everyday life without success or change is scary, folks!...

Sometimes it takes graphic representations (visuals or sparking personal feelings of uncomfortableness) to get a message across... As for the Greyhound rescue movement?... Sadly, not much has changed in all of these years - this article is from 2009 and it describes 19,000 Greyhounds still losing their lives at retirement...

Years ago, I was pretty active in the fur trade in this part of the world - passing off dog fur as other kinds of fur being sold at upscale boutiques for enormous prices... And people still willing to buy them, even after knowing it was FiFi or Fido they were wearing...

Meat trade or fur trade - it is always sloughed off by folks as being 'cultural' and as long as we don't seen these wire cages being pedaled down our neighborhood on a bicycle by someone one, society will turn its head away and pretend that is is not going on --- just like we do regarding the vast explosion and overpopulation of unwanted pets that fill our shelters and rescues to the brim...

Once again this morning I am reminded that the more things change, the more they remain the same in oh, so many ways... Facilitator or not, I haven't been effective at all in changing the world... And not even a small part of it, despite devoting my life to the premise that we should not be killing healthy, adoptable dogs...

Two 15-year old Poms dumped at Carson ShelterFemale on the right was euthanized yesterday

Even if we were raised to believe that feeding Skippy or Pedigree to our dogs was healthy and OK, times have changed and the old ways have been proven to not be the right ways or the best ways...

It wasn't that long ago that mentally challenged individuals underwent hysterectomies or castrations because it was believed this was an effective way to do the right thing for the overall well being of our communities and society...

Just because things 'used' to be done one way, that doesn't mean they should continue to be considered the 'right way'... That point was drawn home for me yet again this morning when I saw an owner had dumped their two 15-year old elderly Poms in a high kill shelter... (Note: update on the two Poms - I've been told the female was killed by the shelter due to mass she had and it is thought the male on the left made it out via a rescue, but both messages are unconfirmed at this time).

Friday, June 21, 2013

A volunteer told me the other night she has a hard time trusting folks that don't like animals and the discussion went from there onto other topics... Like the connection between domestic violence and harming animals in the home, etc...

As I drove home that night, I mulled over the feelings that I have in regards to what I do and the passion for saving small dogs... This makes me a better person... And those of us who have a loved fur baby in our lives (or more than one) become better people because of sharing our heart and love with these little ones, ya know?

Right before Father's Day, a fella came into the rescue shop... He'd been debating about getting his dad a dog or not, but was concerned that it might not work out and then what would he do with the dog?... Normally I don't get this involved with everyone that walks into the rescue shop, but as I listened to him talk, I saw visions of those old vintage Hallmark cards... Add a small pipe and a much longer beard, and this guy could have passed for Santa!... Those twinkling blue eyes got my attention, but the feelings I got from him held me captivated... His dad had lost his little Yorkie awhile back and then a few months ago, his dad had moved into Sunrise, our local assisted living facility... His dad wasn't handling all of the changes real well, and his son thought maybe having a little dog would help... One of the volunteers suggested our little Rebecca... For those that follow our blog and the journey at the rescue shop, you might remember Rebecca's story... She came out of Camarillo preggers, we rushed her to ER late one Sunday night and it was feared Rebecca would not make it through a C-section, let alone a natural delivery...

One of the pups had turned sideways and Rebecca was bleeding internally while the other three pups could not move on to be delivered... It was really a touch & go situation and when I left her, my heart was heavy - not only worrying where I was going to find $1,200 for an emergency C-section, but would she survive at all?

Four hours later, I called them at 3AM to learn that Rebecca had (apparently) heard "C-section" and delivered those puppies on their own... Even though she had delivered the pups, things were still touch & go because of her own medical issues, could the pups be nursed, etc.?

For days we pampered Rebecca as she refused to eat... And without wanting to eat, she had little enough to make milk to nurse her pups... Sadly, we lost her four pups one by one, but we saved Rebecca... Sometimes you really have to wonder why your journey takes the twists and turns it does... I cannot begin to even tell you how many times I have looked skywards and asked, "Why me, Lord?" or "Why this now, Lord?"...

Rebecca got better and better... Eventually she was well enough to be spayed and eventually put up for adoption... And when she was being looked at by Ted (Ray's son), Rebecca worked it!... Cute and as cute could be she was!...

This week, Ted came back into the rescue shop to pick up the license for the county we had talked about, and as I asked how things were going, he just lit up and started sharing photos of his dad and Rebecca together... His dad leaves his door open all the time and Rebecca does not leave his room without him...

She now rides in the basket of his little scooter thingy, sits down and puts her paws on the very edge of it and does not try to jump out... Once in the room, he lays down and she immediately jumps up and lays by Ray's belly... And if out on a walk, she will only walk so far and then sits down and stops, waiting for Ray to catch up with her... Then she gets up and repeats this until they get to his room - and she always picks the right door too!... What a smart little girl she is!

But even better than all of this?

Ray has had a hard time making new friends and apparently is a bit shy... Now he has all kinds of folks coming by his room, asking if they can walk Rebecca... Folks stop him all the time to tell him how cute little Rebecca is... And he has made all kinds of new friends at Sunrise...

One little dog, who has the 'attitude for gratitude' found so commonly in rescue dogs, has made a profound impact on one of our senior citizens in our community... Numerous times along her journey she came very close to death and think about she now 'pays it forward' with unconditional love and comfort to Ray...

Amazing, huh?... Yes, these are the things that make us rescuers better people for our calling and passion!

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Welcome to TLC!

A small rescue with the mission statement "to rescue, rehabilitate and re-home abandoned and neglected dogs, saving them from certain death in the local shelters." We work ONLY with small breeds and do it, one dog at a time. Visit our website to see the available dogs we have for adoption!